Traktor consolidates in the East, Sochi wins at Red Star. October 18 round-up

After a 4-2 win over Salavat Yulaev, Traktor moves four points of the chasing pack in the Eastern Conference. Friday’s other game saw Sochi shrug off the controversial transfer of forward Michal Kristof with a 4-0 victory over Kunlun Red Star.

Third time’s the charm for Traktor

Traktor Chelyabinsk 4 Salavat Yulaev Ufa 2 (1-0, 1-1, 2-1)

After two losses to Salavat Yulaev, it was third time lucky for Traktor tonight. A 4-2 verdict restored the home team’s four-point lead over Avtomobilist at the top of the Eastern Conference. Salavat Yulaev remains seventh, albeit after playing fewer games than any other team in the section.

The visitor made a bright start and Zach Fucale made a couple of good early saves. However, the opening goal went to the home team when Alexander Kadeikin converted the first power play of the night. That’s Kadeikin’s eighth goal of a season in which his productivity is returning to the levels he showed when he played in Ufa.

However, after getting ahead Traktor was unable to press home its advantage. Salavat Yulaev finished with an 11-4 shot count at the first intermission, and continued to impress early in the second period. Ufa killed a penalty, waited for a power play chance of its own, and tied the game thanks to Nathan Todd’s goal after 25 minutes.

After that, the game was end-to-end and the two goalies, Fucale and Semyon Vyazovoi, were the key figures. However, just past the midway stage, Vladimir Tkachyov’s hard work on the slot saw him restore Traktor’s lead.

At the start of the third period, the teams were a little more cautious. But the goals kept coming: Todd set up Nikita Zorkin for a well-placed shot to tie it up once again, before Mikhail Kotlyarevsky responded with a solo effort. Vladimir Zharkov picked up an assist on that one, recording his 100th helper in the KHL. The outcome remained in doubt until the last moments, but an empty-net goal from Semyon Der-Arguchintsev made the points safe for Traktor, while Fucale picked up an assist to go with his 35 saves.

Three-goal blast gives Sochi a big win

Kunlun Red Star 0 HC Sochi 4 (0-4, 0-0, 0-0)

Sochi was fired up coming into this game. The Black Sea club was outraged by the departure of Slovak forward Michal Kristof, who was playing tonight for a Swiss club despite being under contract in the KHL until the end of the season.

When it came to game time, though, Sochi channelled those frustrations effectively. The visitor scored four unanswered goals on Kunlun in a powerful first period, putting this game beyond reach inside 20 minutes.

Although the early exchanges were even, everything changed when a defensive error from the home team helped Artur Tyanulin open the scoring in the seventh minute. Inspired, Sochi added two more goals in less than two minutes, Denis Vengryzhanovsky and Dmytro Timashov extending the lead. The Dragons called a time-out, but kept faith with starting goalie Jeremy Smith. However, Sochi kept up the pressure and added a fourth goal through Jesse Graham in the 14th minute. Kirill Rasskazov collected his third assist of the game in the process. Late in the frame, the home team had a couple of power play chances but could make little impression.

At the start of the second period, Sochi killed another penalty and Timur Khafizov leapt out of the box to grab the puck and bear down on Smith’s net. This time, though, the goalie had the answers. And that was the story of the remaining two periods. Neither goalie was beaten again, and there were relatively few scoring chances in a game that was settled in a two-minute blast early on.